he continued to send orders to the Emir in Berber—­Yunes—­that he should advance into the Monassir district, harry such villages as existed, and obstruct the frequent reconnaissances from Merawi.  Yunes, however, preferred to do otherwise, and remained on the left bank opposite Berber until, at length, his master recalled him to Omdurman to explain his conduct.  Meanwhile, determined with mathematical exactness by the rise of the Nile and progress of the railway, the moment of the Egyptian advance arrived.

At the end of July preparations were made, as secretly as possible, to despatch a flying column against Abu Hamed.  The Dervish garrison, under Mohammed-ez-Zein, was not believed to exceed 600 men, but in order that there should be no doubt as to the result it was determined to employ a strong force.

A brigade of all arms was formed as follows:-

 Commanding:  Major-general hunter

  Cavalry . . . . . . .  One troop
  Artillery . . . . . .  No. 2 Field Battery
   [This battery consisted of six Krupp guns, two Maxims, one Gardner gun,
     and one Nordenfeldt—­an effective medley.]

Infantry  .   .   .   .   .   .   .    MACDONALD’S brigade
— 3rd Egyptian
— IXth Soudanese
— Xth     "
— XIth    "

Major-General Sir Archibald Hunter, the officer to whom the operation was entrusted, was from many points of view the most imposing figure in the Egyptian army.  He had served through the Nile Expedition of 1884-85, with some distinction, in the Khedive’s service.  Thenceforward his rise was rapid, even for an Egyptian officer, and in ten years he passed through all the grades from Captain to Major-General.  His promotion was not, however, undeserved.  Foremost in every action, twice wounded—­once at the head of his brigade—­always distinguished for valour and conduct, Hunter won the admiration of his comrades and superiors.  During the River War he became, in spite of his hard severity, the darling of the Egyptian Army.  All the personal popularity which great success might have brought to the Sirdar focussed itself on his daring, good-humoured subordinate, and it was to Hunter that the soldiers looked whenever there was fighting to be done.  The force now placed under his command for the attack upon Abu Hamed amounted to about 3,600 men.  Until that place was taken all other operations were delayed.  The Sirdar awaited the issue at Merawi.  The railway paused in mid-desert.

The troops composing the ‘flying column’ concentrated at Kassingar, a small village a few miles above Merawi, on the right (or Abu Hamed) bank of the Nile.  General Hunter began his march on the 29th of July.  The total distance from Kassingar to Abu Hamed is 146 miles.  The greatest secrecy had been observed in the preparation of the force, but it was known that as soon as the column actually started the news would be carried to the enemy.